The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to impose a general discovery rule to actions brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The court’s ruling, however, leaves open the question of whether debtors may be able to bring claims outside the statute of limitations under a more specific fraud-based discovery rule.

The high court’s 8-1 decision in Rotkiske v. Klemm affirmed a 2018 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which rejected the argument that the time period for suing begins to run when the violation is discovered, rather than when the violation occurs. The case was initially filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against a Roseland, New Jersey, firm.